lat. a contrariofra. au contraire (de ...), par contre, ...eng. on/to the contrary, in contrast withbe vârunebar vâž-gunbar aks+Ockham and Gregory did not intend their views to undermine theology. To the contrary, for them, theology is in a sense more certain than science, because it is built upon principles that are guaranteed to be true by God, whereas the principles of science must be as fallible as their human creators. Unfortunately for theology, the prestige of science increased in the 16th century and skyrocketed in the 17th and 18th centuries. Modern thinkers preferred to reach their own conclusions using reason and experience, even if ultimately these conclusions did not have the authority of God to support them. As theologians lost confidence in reason, other thinkers, who had little or no commitment to Aristotelian thought, became its champions, thus furthering the development of modern science.